Looking for history to repeat ...or to create a new chapter

For any motorsport fan, the off-season is especially stressful. All you are doing is reading/watching/listening to news about your favourite rider or team, while you count the days to the start of the new season. And this means that the first race assumes a lot of importance. You want to get back all the excitement that you have been missing, and you want all of it in the first race itself.  
And Qatar has got that covered.
The opening round of the FIM World Motocross Championship has always provided adrenaline-rush moments and also notched up a surprise or two. The Qatar edition has seen four different winners. And last season’s winners – in the MX and MX2 categories – went on to become world champions.
The fans in Qatar will be hoping for another exciting start to the motocross season. And with certain changes made to the track, one can expect a thrilling race. “We did some work on the track surface this year with the hope to improve things a little bit and we’re hoping the riders will enjoy the change. It is always exciting to have the MXGP here, it is a fantastic show and we hope that more and more people come here to watch,” said Losail Circuit Sports Club Vice President and General Manager Khalid al-Remaihi during the press conference yesterday.
“We are very excited to have the opening round for the MXGP series. The MXGP is always exciting, it is always a show. We had Tim Gajser and Herlings win here last year and go on to win the championship, we hope this year’s winners will have the same luck,” said QMMF president Abdulrahman al-Mannai .
Honda rider Tim Gajser won both the MXGP races last season and continued that form on his way to grabbing the overall title. The Slovenian is one of the front-runners for the podium. But he will have to go against history and become the first rider to claim a repeat performance.
“We had a really good winter, we had a new bike from Honda and we tested a lot. I’m looking to do my best here just try to forget about the pressure and ride like I know how to and we will see come Saturday,” said Gajser yesterday.
His main opposition could come from a source that many had written off. Motocross great Antonio Cairoli has won eight titles (1 MXGP and seven MX2). He won his only MXGP title in 2014 and was since expected to dominate the scene. But a lot of factors, including injuries, have prevented the Italian from delivering to his potential. But in the pre-season, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider has been making all the right noises, winning a couple of events.  
“The preseason races were really on point this year and I’m very grateful that I’m feeling back at almost my best of all time, I’m really looking forward to the races coming here at Qatar,” said Cairoli.
The spotlight this season was firmly on Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings. The Dutchman had won the MX2 championship last season and has now graduated this season to MXP. But an injury suffered two weeks ago has ruined the start of the season for Herlings and his participation is in doubt for the opening race. “We had a perfect run in the off season, riding was good, we really dialled in the bike, I was super comfortable with bike, feeling that I could make a run for the championship my rookie year. As you know I crashed two weeks ago and broke a bone in my hand which has been pretty devastating. I’m unsure if I can take part in the Saturday program, I haven’t rode since the injury, so tomorrow will be our first test and hopefully we can be racing,”said Herlings yesterday.
There are also the usual suspects who will be looking to grab the honours in the first race of the season.  Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl had claimed both the race wins in 2015. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre, Rockstar Energy, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle and Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos are a few of the names to watch out for.
Giuseppe Luongo, president of Youthstream — the organisers of MXGP — said that he’s expecting another action-filled start to the season. “I want to thank the Losail Circuit for welcoming us here once again, and to the QMMF for the great organization of this race, everything is perfect, everything is clean, the track is prepared very well, and we are set to have another fantastic opening to the season,” said Luongo yesterday.
All the signs point to an exciting start to the motocross season and in case rain decides to grace the occasion, then it would time to rub your hands in glee.
To your starting gates then.

Schedule
Event        Start Finish
Today
MX2 Qualifying    7:50pm  8:30pm
MXGP Qualifying    8:40pm 9:20pm

Tomorrow
MX2 Race 1    5:00pm 6:00pm
MXGP Race 1    6:00pm 7:00pm
MX2 race 2    8:00pm 9:00pm
MXGP Race 2    9:00pm 10:00pm